Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy

MidAmerica Orthopaedics now offers Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy. This therapy can help injured joints and other problems. It uses parts of your own blood to reduce pain and speed up healing.

Can it Help Me?

PRP may help if you have:

meniscus tears in your knee

rotator cuff tears in your shoulder

plantar fasciitis in your foot

injuries in your spine, hip or elbow

Benefits of PRP

Parts of your body have a hard time healing. For example, ligaments and tendons (they connect bones and muscles) do not get much blood from the body. Sprains and strains of these tissues heal slowly. PRP uses your own blood to speed up the healing in these areas.

How It Works

The process begins with a sample of your blood. It is spun around in a centrifuge. This separates it into platelets, plasma, and red and white blood cells. The platelets are then concentrated and mixed with some of the plasma. This mixture is called "platelet rich plasma." The doctor injects this into the site of your injury.

The Procedure

After the injection, your immune system (the system that keeps your body healthy) reacts quickly. Special white blood cells called "macrophages" rush in. They take away damaged cells. They help prep the site for healing. Then, stem cells and other cells begin to multiply. Over time, they repair and rebuild the injured tissues.

The PRP process is quick. You can go home the same day. It may help your injury heal faster. PRP can help treat and eliminate the cause of your pain. Some people need more than one treatment before they heal completely.

PRP for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee

If you are looking for alternative ways to treat your hip or knee joint pain, you may consider PRP injections. Studies are being done on the effectiveness and results of using PRP injections to treat osteoarthritis.

What it found was that "compared with injections of saline as the placebo, patients injected with PRP experienced better pain relief and functional improvement up to one year following the injection. When compared with injections of hyaluronic acid (HA – a commonly given injection for arthritis), PRP had small but real improvements in pain relief a year after the injections.1"